Organic electroluminescent display and method for making same

ABSTRACT

An organic electroluminescent display apparatus and method for manufacturing same is disclosed; the method prevents the anode and the cathode from defects and short circuit, and with the suitable geometry of the electrical insulation ramparts, the mechanical properties of the cathode insulating ramparts are increased such that the adhesion between the cathode insulating ramparts and the substrate is enhanced.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to organicelectroluminescent displays, and more particularly to a structure of acathode rampart of an organic electroluminescent display.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] With the advent of the information technology age, there is anincreasing demand for high-quality electro-optical displays, in whichliquid crystal displays (LCD) are the most popular. A LCD backlightmodule comprising a light guide and a reflective plate is utilized forintroducing the light beams, emitted from the cold cathode fluorescentlamp, vertically to the liquid crystal display panel, in which theliquid crystal contained therein controls the illuminance of the LCD.Conventional LCD has a limited view angle and requires very complicatedmanufacturing processes, which result in high manufacturing costs andrelatively low yields. However, organic electroluminescent displays(OELD) have larger view angle and can be produced through less complexmanufacturing process. These advantages are based on the self-luminanceof the organic elements in the organic electroluminescent displays,which results in the unrestricted visual angles, more natural colorsdisplayed, increased operational temperature range and shorter responsetime.

[0005] Organic electroluminescent displays generally include cathodes,organic electroluminescent materials and anodes, which are stacked insequence on a substrate of glass. The cathodes and the anodes arerespectively composed of a plurality of electrodes disposed in aparallel stripes formation, and the cathodes and anodes are configuredperpendicular to each other. Organic electroluminescent materials aredisposed at the intersections of the cathodes and the anodes, and areseparated by insulating materials. Accordingly, the cathodes, theorganic electroluminescent materials and the anodes form a three-layerstructure disposed on the substrate. When a voltage difference betweenthe cathodes and the anodes is present, the organic electroluminescentmaterial emits light beams.

[0006] The metal electrodes of the cathodes are coated throughevaporation on the organic electroluminescent material after the organicelectroluminescent material and the insulating materials are formed.However, the cathodes composed of metal electrodes are easily diffusedalong the gaps between the organic electroluminescent material and theinsulating materials during the formation step. Once the cathodescontact the anodes, it will short circuit and the organicelectroluminescent materials between the cathodes and the anodes can notemit light.

[0007] If foreign particles fall aside the insulating materials asdefects before the electrodes of the cathode are formed by coatingthrough evaporation, metal materials will be formed around the foreignparticles during the formation step and a short circuit is likelybetween neighboring metal electrodes.

[0008] Furthermore, during the manufacturing process of full-colororganic electroluminescent displays (FOELD), it is necessary to utilizeshadow masks for partially masking the organic electroluminescentmaterial. After the organic electroluminescent material layer foremitting light beams of one color is coated on the anodes, the shadowmasks are moved so as to form another organic electroluminescentmaterial layer for emitting light beams of another color. In this case,the shadow masks will contact the insulating materials directly duringthe formation of the second organic electroluminescent material layer.This will cause the insulating materials to be peeled off anddeteriorate the organic electroluminescent material.

[0009] In the prior art, forming a plurality of cathode ramparts in thedirection perpendicular to anode electrodes to separate cathodeelectrodes arranged in parallel from each other is disclosed. With theexposure at the side of the cathode ramparts, since the exposure isfocused mostly at the upper portion of the cathode ramparts, the portionof the cathode ramparts adjacent to the anode electrodes is not ofsufficiently cross-linking and consequently the mechanical performancethereof is not significantly high. This results in the cathode rampartsbeing easily peeled off while contacting the shadow masks due to thedeterioration of the adhesion between the ramparts and the substrate.

[0010] If the adhesion between cathode ramparts and substrate isstrengthened by revising the parameters in photolithography process, thegeometry of the cathode ramparts can not be effectively used as a maskduring the coating of the cathode electrodes through evaporation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In view of the above problems, the principal object of thepresent invention is to provide an organic electroluminescent displayand a method for manufacturing same, which prevents the anode and thecathode from defects and short circuit, and with the suitable geometryof the electrical insulation ramparts, the mechanical properties of thecathode insulating ramparts are increased such that the adhesion betweenthe cathode insulating ramparts and the substrate is enhanced.

[0012] To achieve this object, the present invention provides an organicelectroluminescent display, comprising a plurality of first displayelectrodes disposed in parallel on a substrate; a plurality of seconddisplay electrodes arranged in parallel, disposed on the first displayelectrodes and being perpendicular thereto; a plurality of organicelectroluminescent materials disposed between the first displayelectrodes and the second display electrodes for emitting light andelectrical insulation between the first and second display electrodes; aplurality of insulating ramparts disposed between neighboring two seconddisplay electrodes and arranged in parallel thereto; and overhangsdisposed on the portion of the insulating ramparts away from thesubstrate, the portion of the insulating ramparts proximate to thesubstrate having a sufficiently high cross-linking such that betteradhesion between insulating ramparts and the first display electrodes isensured.

[0013] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing anorganic electroluminescent display, comprising the steps of forming aplurality of first display electrodes of high light transmissionarranged in parallel on a transparent substrate; forming an insulatinglayer on the transparent substrate, the insulating layer including aplurality of slots perpendicular to the first display electrodes forexposing the first display electrodes; forming cathode ramparts on theexposed first display electrodes, the portion of the cathode rampartsaway from the substrate providing overhangs of greater width, and theportion of the cathode ramparts proximate to the substrate havingsufficiently high cross-linking for increasing the adhesion between thecathode ramparts and the first display electrodes; removing theinsulating layer partially by means of the masking effect of theoverhangs of the cathode ramparts for exposing the first displayelectrode; forming an organic electroluminescent material on the exposedfirst display electrodes; and forming a plurality of second displayelectrodes on the organic electroluminescent material.

[0014] It should be noted that the step of forming the insulatingramparts may further comprise the steps of forming a blanket ofphotosensitive material on the insulating layer; illuminating thephotosensitive material from one side of the substrate opposite to thefirst display electrodes with the insulating layer as photo masks; andproceeding a development process to the photosensitive material toexpose the insulating layer. Since the light beams are from the sideopposite to the first display electrodes, the cross-linking at theportion of the insulating ramparts proximate to the substrate is moresignificant than at the portion away from the substrate. Therefore, theadhesion between the ramparts and the substrate is enhanced.

[0015] The present invention further provides a method for manufacturingan organic electroluminescent display, comprising the steps of forming aplurality of first display electrodes of high light transmission on atransparent substrate; forming an opaque insulating layer on thetransparent substrate, the opaque insulating layer including a pluralityof slots at predetermined locations; forming a photosensitive insulatinglayer on the substrate; illuminating the photosensitive insulating layerfrom light beams passing through the substrate and the first displayelectrodes in sequence with the opaque insulating layer as photo masks;removing the un- illuminated portion of the photosensitive insulatinglayer to form insulating ramparts; proceeding an anisotropic etchingprocess to the opaque insulating layer for exposing the first displayelectrodes; forming an organic electroluminescent material on theexposed first display electrodes; and forming a plurality of seconddisplay electrodes on the organic electroluminescent material.

Additional advantages, objects and features of the present inventionwill become more apparent from the drawings and description whichfollows. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention will become more apparent from the detaileddescription given hereinbelow when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, which are given by means of illustration only andthus are not limitative of the present invention, in which:

[0017]FIGS. 1A and 1B are top views showing an organicelectroluminescent display according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention; and

[0018] FIGS. 2A-2G are sectional views of an organic electroluminescentdisplay according to the present invention illustrating the manufactureprocesses in sequence, wherein FIGS. 2B, 2C are cross-sectional viewstaken along 2B-2B and 2C-2C of FIG. 1A respectively, and FIG. 2F is across-sectional view taken along 2F-2F of FIG. 1B. Brief Description ofthe Reference Numerals 200 substrate 202 transparent conductive material202a anode electrodes 204 opaque insulating material 206 opening 208photosensitive insulating material 208a cathode rampart 208b overhang210 light source for exposure 212 illuminated region 214 organicelectroluminescent material 216 metal conductive material

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0019] With reference to FIG. 2A, a substantially transparent conductivematerial 202, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or In₂O₃-ZnO, is firstformed on a substrate 200, such as a transparent glass substrate or aflexible, light-transmitting plastic substrate, by a sputtering process.Next, photoresists are provided on the conductive material 202 as maskssuch that a plurality of anode electrodes 202 a of transparentconductive material of stripe shapes arranged in parallel are formedfrom the conductive material 202 after a photolithography process forremoving the portions of the conductive material 202 unmasked by thephotoresists. Accordingly, the portions of the substrate 200 unmasked bythe photoresists are exposed (see FIGS. 1A and 2B).

[0020] With reference to FIGS. 1A and 2C, a blanket of opaque insulatingmaterial, such as non-photosensitive polyimide doped with dark pigments,is spin-coated on the anode electrodes 202 a about 1-2 μm thickness forcovering both the anode electrodes 202 a and the substrate 200 exposed.Then, a photolithography process or developers may be introduced toremove the opaque insulating material at predetermined locations so thatthe insulating material 204 of a pattern shown in FIG. 1A is defined andat least anode electrodes 202 a are partially exposed. Slots 206 ofstripe shapes parallel to each other and perpendicular to the directionof the anode electrodes 202 a are therefore formed. Regions between twoadjacent slots 206 functions as luminescent regions of the organicelectroluminescent displays and the width of such regions is about50-300 μm depending on the resolution of the organic electroluminescentdisplays. The width of the slots 206 is about 5-30 μm for formingcathode ramparts in later steps.

[0021] With reference to FIG. 2D, a blanket of photosensitive insulatingmaterials 208 is formed on the insulating material 204 as negativephotoresists and thereby filling the slots 206 and covering thesubstrate 200. The photosensitive insulating materials 208 can be, forexample, spin-coated on the substrate about 3-5 μm thickness. Suchnegative photoresists are capable to be blanketed on the substrate 200and the thickness thereof is not necessary to be significantly thick, sothat the manufacturing cost can be conserved. Subsequently, a lightsource 210 for exposure is provided at the side opposite to thephotosensitive insulating materials 208. The light beams 210 emittedfrom the light source can be parallel or not. Alternatively, anultra-violet light source can be utilized to improve the baking effectfor the photosensitive insulating material 208 and to reduce the cost.

[0022] The light beams 210 emitted from the light source penetrate intothe substrate 200 and further pass through the anode electrodes 202a andslots 206. While the light beams 210 impinge the photosensitiveinsulating materials 208, an exposure process is introduced thereto.Since the insulating material 204 is opaque, it functions as masks toresist the light beams from passing through, so that only light beamspassing through the slots 206 impinge the photosensitive insulatingmaterials 208 for exposure. Regions 212 between two correspondingdivergent dotted lines indicate the regions of the photosensitiveinsulating material 208 illuminated by the light beams. It should benoted that the region 212 has a reverse-tapered cross-section due to thenon-parallel light beams incident thereto. After removing the portion ofthe photosensitive insulating materials 208 not illuminated by the lightbeams with a developer solution, cathode ramparts 208 a of stripe shapesarranged substantially in parallel are formed (see FIGS. 2E and 1B). Atthis stage, infrared rays or other heat source can be utilized forbaking the cathode ramparts 208 a to enhance the structural stability.

[0023] Since the opaque insulating materials 208 are formed on thesubstrate 200, the step of forming cathode ramparts by photo masksthrough exposure from the side of the photosensitive insulatingmaterials 208 in the prior art can be omitted. In addition, while thesubstrate 200 is flexible, such as a transparent flexible plasticsubstrate, the opaque insulating materials 208 will be bentcorresponding to the substrate 200, so that the alignment between thephoto masks and the substrate can be ensured and the exposure effectwill not be affected by the flexibility of the substrate.

[0024] In the above mentioned exposure process, since the portion of thecathode ramparts 208 a proximate to the substrate 200 receives moreenergy from the light beams than the portion away from the substrate200, more photo initiators within the photosensitive insulating material208 proceed cross-linking adjacent to the slots 206. Therefore, thecross-linking effect at the portion of the cathode ramparts 208 aproximate to the substrate 200 is more significant than at the portionfar from the substrate 200, whereby the adhesion between the cathoderamparts 208 a and the substrate 200 is enhanced for preventing thecathode ramparts 208 a from peeling off.

[0025] Since the light beams from the light source 210 are not limitedto be in parallel, the shape of the cathode ramparts 208 a correspondsto the region illuminated by light beams and will be a reverse-taperedcross-sectional configuration in which overhangs 208 b of greater widthare formed at the portion of the cathode ramparts 208 a far from thesubstrate 200. Therefore, the angle 0 between the substrate 200 and theouter circumference of the cathode ramparts 208 a is less than 80degrees, preferably in a range of 40-80 degrees due to the non-parallellight beams incident to the cathode ramparts 208 a and the insulatingmaterials 204 as optical gratings. Since the angle θ according to thepresent invention is smaller than that in the prior art, the height ofthe cathode ramparts 208 a of the present invention can be reduced to1-5 μm for implementing the same masking effect as in the art.

[0026] With reference to FIGS. 2F and 1B, after the overhangs 208 b ofthe cathode ramparts 208 a are formed, an anisotropic etching process,such as an reactive-ion etching (RIE) or plasma etching, is conducted tothe opaque insulating materials 204. With the masking effect of theoverhangs 208 b, the resultant insulating materials 204 a aresubstantially parallel to the cathode rampart layers 208 a and aresubstantially perpendicular to the anode electrodes 202 a, therebyexposing partially the anode electrodes 202 a (see FIG. 1B).

[0027] Next, organic electroluminescent materials 214 are formed on theexposed anode electrodes 202 a (see FIG. 2G). While producingsingle-color organic electroluminescent displays, an organicelectroluminescent layer is coated through evaporation on the exposedanode electrodes 202 a. While producing full-color organicelectroluminescent displays, RGB organic electroluminescent layers areformed in turn on the exposed anode electrodes 202 a by using shadowmasks. Subsequently, metal conductive materials 216, such as Al, Mg-Alalloy or other suitable metal materials, are formed on the organicelectroluminescent materials 214 as cathode electrodes of the organicelectroluminescent displays.

[0028] With reference to FIG. 2G, metal conductive materials 216 areformed on the organic electroluminescent materials 214 without damagingthe metal conductive materials 216 due to the masking effect of theoverhangs 208 b of the cathode ramparts 208 a. In addition, the shortcircuit between the metal conductive materials 216 and the anodeelectrodes 202 a is avoided due to the presence of the cathode ramparts208 a and the insulating materials 204 a.

[0029] According to the present invention, adhesions between the cathoderamparts and the substrate and between the cathode ramparts and thetransparent conductive materials are enhanced such that the shadow maskswill not be damaged while coating organic electroluminescent materialsthrough evaporation. In addition, since the cathode ramparts are formedthrough exposure from the side opposite to the photosensitive insulatingmaterials, and better masking effect can be achieved by means of thesmall angle between the substrate and the cathode ramparts according tothe present invention, thick photosensitive materials, light sourcesemitting parallel light beams and providing additional one photo maskare not necessary such that the manufacturing cost can be significantlyreduced.

[0030] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentinvention as recited in the accompanying claims.

what is claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing an organicelectroluminescent display, comprising the steps of: forming a pluralityof first display electrodes arranged in parallel on a substantiallytransparent substrate; forming an insulating layer on the transparentsubstrate, the insulating layer including a plurality of slotsperpendicular to the first display electrodes for exposing the firstdisplay electrodes; forming insulating ramparts on the exposed firstdisplay electrodes, the portion of the insulating ramparts away from thesubstrate further forming overhangs, and the portion of the cathoderamparts proximate to the substrate having sufficiently highcross-linking for increasing the adhesion between the insulatingramparts and the first display electrodes; partially removing theinsulating layer through the masking effect of the overhangs forexposing the first display electrode; forming an organicelectroluminescent material on the exposed first display electrodes; andforming a plurality of second display electrodes on the organicelectroluminescent material.
 2. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe thickness of the insulating ramparts is in a range of 1-5 μm.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the angle between the substrate andeach overhang is in a range of 40-80 degrees.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the step of forming the insulating ramparts furthercomprises the steps of: forming a blanket of photosensitive material onthe insulating layer; illuminating the photosensitive material from oneside of the substrate opposite to the first display electrodes with theinsulating layer as photo masks; and processing the photosensitivematerial to expose the insulating layer.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the step of partially removing the insulating layer bymeans of the masking effect of the overhangs is achieved by ananisotropic etching process.
 6. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe cross-linking at the portion of the insulating ramparts proximate tothe substrate is stronger than at the portion away from the substrate.7. A method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent display,comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of first display electrodesof high light transmission on a substantially transparent substrate;forming a substantially opaque insulating layer on the transparentsubstrate; forming a plurality of slots at predetermined locations onthe opaque insulating layer; forming a photosensitive insulating layeron the substrate; illuminating the photosensitive insulating layer fromlight beams passing through the substrate and the first displayelectrodes in sequence with the opaque insulating layer as photo masks;removing the un-illuminated portion of the photosensitive insulatinglayer to form insulating ramparts; proceeding an anisotropic etchingprocess to the opaque insulating layer for exposing the first displayelectrodes; forming an organic electroluminescent material on theexposed first display electrodes; and forming a plurality of seconddisplay electrodes on the organic electroluminescent material.
 8. Themethod according to claim 7, wherein the thickness of the insulatingramparts is in a range of 1-5 μm.
 9. The method according to claim 7,wherein overhangs are on the portion of the insulating ramparts awayfrom the substrate, and the portion of the insulating ramparts proximateto the substrate having a sufficiently high cross-linking for enhancingthe adhesion between insulating ramparts and the first displayelectrodes.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the anglebetween the substrate and each overhang is in a range of 40-80 degrees.11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the cross-linking at theportion of the insulating ramparts proximate to the substrate is moresignificant than at the portion away from the substrate.
 12. An organicelectroluminescent display, comprising: a plurality of first displayelectrodes of high light transmission formed in parallel on asubstantially transparent substrate; an opaque insulating layer havingslots of stripe shapes formed on the first display electrodes, the slotsare perpendicular to the first display electrodes; a plurality ofinsulating ramparts of reverse-tapered cross-section formed on firstdisplay electrodes at the slots, the insulating ramparts includingoverhangs on the portion away from the substrate such that theinsulating layer is formed utilizing an anisotropic etching process soas to be in parallel to the insulating ramparts and the first displayelectrodes are exposed partially; an organic electroluminescent materialdisposed on the exposed first display electrodes; and a plurality ofsecond display electrodes formed in parallel on the organicelectroluminescent material, the second display electrodes beingperpendicular to the first display electrodes.
 13. The organicelectroluminescent display according to claim 12, wherein the anglebetween the substrate and each overhang is in a range of 40-80 degrees.14. The organic electroluminescent display according to claim 12,wherein the thickness of the insulating ramparts is in a range of 1-5μm.
 15. The organic electroluminescent display according to claim 12,wherein the cross-linking at the portion of the insulating rampartsproximate to the substrate is more significant than at the portion awayfrom the substrate.